(Ava’s POV)
The world returned in pieces.
First, the dull ache blooming behind my eyes. Then the rhythmic beep of a heart monitor. Then warmth—blankets, maybe—and the faint scent of herbs and antiseptic.
My chest burned. My limbs felt like they were stitched together with glass. I tried to move and instantly regretted it.
“Easy,” a voice murmured to my left. Emily. “You’re safe now.”
I turned my head slowly. She sat by my bedside, eyes rimmed with exhaustion but filled with fierce relief. Her hand was wrapped in gauze—burned maybe—and for a second, guilt clawed through the fog in my mind.
“I made it,” I croaked.
“Barely,” she replied, squeezing my hand. “You almost didn’t. But you did. You fought.”
Her voice cracked on the last word. I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t—not yet. My mi
